There may be no light at the end of the tunnel for many companies during the current financial difficulties being faced globally, but the man once dubbed the prince of gymnastics is remarkably gung-ho.
Last month Olympic gold medal winner Li Ning's business announced the signing up of the Chinese National Basketball Team. It followed the group's partnerships with the Chinese Table Tennis, Gymnastics, Shooting and Diving Teams, all of which have won Olympic gold medals.
For Li Ning Co Ltd, one of the leading sports brand enterprises in China, it is not just about sponsorship. There is a keen business acumen behind the move.
"We will strive to enhance the popularity, participation rate and influence of badminton in the world," said Li, chairman of the group's board of directors.
Li Ning lit the flame at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics last summer. Xinhua
Li's ambition was endorsed by Li Yongbo, general coach of the badminton team. He said: "Throughout the years we have been looking for professional, tailor-made and systematic services - and Li Ning has it all. I believe the huge support from Li Ning can surely help the Chinese badminton team to further enhance its performance."
Badminton is the second-most popular participation sport in China, according to Li Ning group's CEO, Zhang Zhiyong. He said that by providing gear to the national side, the group will seek to make the brand more popular and boost sales. The first results from this strategy should be known soon because last week was the first occasion for the national badminton side to sport Li Ning's gear - at the Sudirman Cup World Team Badminton Championships in Guangzhou.
Li Ning, now aged 46, was born in Liuzhou, Guangxi. He founded the company in 1990 after retiring from a highly successful professional sports career in 1988.
He had won three gold medals in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics plus two silvers and a bronze. It was a more than usually significant victory for both man and country because it was the first Olympics China had entered for nearly 30 years. He suddenly found himself propelled to international fame just as China was cautiously opening up to the world.
For most athletes, and certainly in Li's day, it was the love of the sport that drove them on. Few contemplated how they would make a living after their sporting days were over and few had any other skills (nowadays the state pays much more attention to the cultural education of athletes).
Li was different. He had a fascination for business. He spurned an offer from Guangxi Sports Committee to serve as its deputy director, an offer from overseas to work as a coach and various invitations to work within performing arts circles.
Instead, he had identified a gap in the market for a strong, locally-made sportswear and equipment industry and was committed to upgrading research and design. He found his name carried weight in business circles and soon had the capital to start his business. Customers, professionals and amateurs, flocked to his stores, wishing to be associated with the golden figurehead of Chinese sporting success.
Li has always managed to keep himself in the public domain. In the year 2000 he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, the first Chinaman to be awarded the honor. And, of course, last year he was watched by billions of people around the world as he lit the cauldron to mark the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
So far, it's looking like the company has escaped the worst depredations of the global economic woes but in a statement to China Daily last week the company said it had suffered in common with the retail industry at large.
However, the figures appear to tell a different story. In 2008, Li Ning group posted revenues of $980 million and total profits of $136 million. That was up from revenues of $418 million and profits of $39 million in 2006. In March 2007, there were 4,297 Li Ning retail stores. Now there are 6,900.
Li Ning is an official marketing partner of the American National Basketball Association and has sponsorship deals with four players: Baron Davis of the Los Angeles Clippers, Shaquille O'Neal of the Phoenix Suns, Damon Jones of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Jos Caldern of the Toronto Raptors.
O'Neal signed a five-year deal with Li Ning, reportedly worth $1.25 million, the largest deal made by the company, and the highest profile signing of an American sports star by a Chinese company.
Since 2004 both the men's and women's Spanish National Basketball Teams have been equipped by Li Ning.
Among a series of initiatives in 2006 the company provided apparel for the Argentine national basketball team at international events including the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and 2012 Olympic Games.
For Li, thus far, life has been a path paved with gold - both in the gymnasium and in the rarefied world of the boardroom. He is, indeed, the man with the Midas touch.
